Frederick III of Sicily

Frederick III of Sicily (13 December 1272-25 June 1337), also known as Federigo of Trinacria, was the King of Trinacria from 11 December 1296 to 25 June 1337, succeeding Jaume II of Aragon and preceding Peter II of Sicily.

Biography
Frederick was born on 13 December 1272 to Pere III of Aragon and Constance of Sicily, and he was from the House of Barcelona, a dynasty of Catholic Italians. His elder brother became Alfonso III of Aragon, and his brother Jaume II of Aragon (who took the throne in 1291) appointed Frederick as regent of Trinacria on the island of Sicily during the War of the Sicilian Vespers with the House of Anjou. Jaume made peace with the Angevins in a treaty that would give Sicily to the Angevin Kingdom of Naples, but the people of Sicily refused to fall under Angevin rule, and they appointed Frederick as their national leader. Jaume planned to go to war with Frederick III, and Frederick encouraged nobles to rise against him in the unstable Kingdom of Aragon. Frederick III invaded Calabria and assisted the House of Colonna against Pope Boniface VIII, but in 1299 he was fought by Jaume, who allied with the Angevins against him. At the Battle of Cape Orlando, the former Aragonese admiral Roger de Lauria defeated Frederick's navy in battle, and in August 1302 the Peace of Caltabellotta was signed. Frederick was allowed to keep Sicily, but he had to marry Charles II of Naples's daughter Eleanor of Anjou and ensure that the succession would go to the Angevins.

In 1313, Frederick broke the peace treaty and allied with Emperor Henry VII of Germany and captured Reggio. Robert of Naples raided the island of Sicily several times, and in 1317 a truce was concluded. Pope John XXII excommunicated Frederick for supporting the Ghibellines in their attack on Genoa, and in 1325-1327 there were yearly raids on Sicily by Angevins. In 1337, Frederick died and was succeeded by his son Peter II of Sicily.